The Marble Fountain
by Arwhale
Summary: In preparation for a designing contest, Rarity and Coco Pommel decide to stay at The Marble Fountain, Manehattan's finest hotel. But underneath all its grandeur... something is wrong. Off. And whatever it is... its eyes are right on them.
1. The Marble Fountain

The Marble Fountain Hotel's lobby captured the high life in all of its essence. Glossy granite tiles reflected the light of the two columns of crystal chandeliers overhead, chandeliers whose glittering could almost be heard like the jingling of silver bells. Two stallions reclined on a pair of sofas in a posh lounge at the center, their soft murmurs made audible by the hard tile floor, which accentuated every hoofstep with a sharp, pealing _clop_ that reverberated around the domed lobby like the start of a slow round of applause.

The echo wouldn't have been so pronounced, however, if the hotel's namesake, an immense, tri-leveled marble fountain, had even been running in the first place.

Rarity could not help but take notice of this fact. She frowned, jotting down a mental note as she walked up to the front counter with her bags in tow.

It was quite a trek to get there, considering the sheer size of the lobby and the expansiveness of the classical Roaman architecture. She figured half of Ponyville could have fit snugly inside. Not many ponies seemed to be here, however, rendering the whole place rather empty. And, as a consequence, a bit… excessive.

Oddly, when she did reach the counter, no one was there. She rang a heavy silver bell with a single tap of her hoof and sat back on the cool tile floor, drawing her rolling suitcases closer with the magic glowing from her horn. She looked left and right expectantly, ears pricked up as she listened for anypony moving around in the back.

While she waited, Rarity naturally took another good look at her pristine surroundings. She had heard plenty of stories about Manehattan's prime destination hotel (with many of those stories being from her good friend who had _insisted_ she visit here this week), and had even seen glimpses of it in brochures she had perused before her arrival. But while the pictures had excited her, being here in the flesh was far better. Unwittingly, the corners of her rose-shaded lips perked up into a giddy grin as she beheld the hotel in all of its grandeur, now able to gaze upon it in the way it was meant to be seen...

Until, once again, her eyes fell upon the hotel's namesake. The fountain, towering over the heads of anypony that walked past, a three-tiered behemoth reminiscent of the classical era. Golden tiles lined the base of the largest pool, reflecting the light of the chandeliers overhead like a lustrous beacon. At its tip, five small urns were arranged in a star formation all the way around the edges, tipped halfway over to allow the water to spill into the pools beneath... that is, when there was any water to begin with. Instead, the bottomless urns lay empty, the pleasant babbling sound of water strangely absent.

Rarity pursed her lips and gave a small, sad shake of her head. What a shame she couldn't have seen it in operation during her stay. Perhaps tomorrow morning...

She turned her head around the other way, looking over to the lounge. The two stallions she had seen on the way in were still there, seated across from one another on a pair of velvet love seats. Neither of them looked at each other, and both had fallen silent. The one looking in her direction made brief eye contact, and trying to be genial, Rarity nodded her head hello. He did not nod back, and instead turned his head away.

Narrowing her brow for a brief moment, Rarity faced forward again. She ran her hoof absentmindedly over the top of her nearest suitcase as she waited. Her stoic frown deepened as the wait dragged on for another several seconds, and she began to wonder if there was anypony there at all. But fortunately, just as she was beginning to contemplate ringing the bell again, she heard hoofsteps approaching.

Dressed in the quintessential hotel uniform with a high white collar, a petite young mare trotted up to the counter. Wisps of her mane fell down in front of her face, but she quickly swept them away and beamed at Rarity with a hospitable smile.

"I am deeply sorry for keeping you waiting, ma'am," she rattled off in a breathless tone. "How may I help you this evening?"

Encountered with the young mare's enthusiasm, any annoyance Rarity had been feeling previously went away. She smiled back.

"That is quite alright, not to worry," she replied. "I am just here to check in."

The mare at the counter picked up a clipboard and withdrew a pen from her coat pocket. She obviously did not want to waste any more time. "What is the name on the reservation, ma'am?"

"Rarity Belle," she answered. The other mare scanned the sheet with pen in mouth, flipped to the next page, and marked the square beside her name. She set the pen back down on the counter.

"Thank you very much, Miss... Rarity? As in the famous fashion designer?" she suddenly blurted out. The pitch of her voice increased toward the end of the question. "_That_ Rarity?"

The question was said quite loudly, its dull echo traveling a little ways around the room. Rarity's ears flattened onto the back of her head, and a tinge of red showed on her cheeks.

"Well... I don't know if 'famous' is quite accurate, but... I am a fashion designer, yes." She laughed. "I was not aware I had such notoriety. Not here, anyway."

She watched the hotel clerk's eyes brighten at the admission. She nodded emphatically. "You most certainly do, I assure you..."

And then, in an odd register, her voice seemed to trail off. A blush appeared on her cheeks as she forced a cough. Then, she reached below the counter and pulled out a neatly folded pamphlet, setting it onto the granite. Her perky demeanor returned, though the sudden switch made Rarity feel a tad bit uncomfortable... though she could not quite put her hoof on the reason why.

"This is simply a guide for your stay here at the Marble Fountain Hotel. All of our upcoming entertainment venues and descriptions of our many world-class restaurants and bars can be found inside, as well as a color-coded map showing where they are all located. Guest information, service numbers, and everything else can be found there as well. And this..."

She withdrew a shiny, ebony-black card and set it onto the countertop beside the pamphlets. "This is your roomkey card. Your room is the Ebony Suite, located on the thirtieth floor on the East Wing. Be sure to take a look at the map inside the brochure if you are ever lost, as well." She quickly swept the two pamphlets together and pushed them over to Rarity's side. "Are there any questions you would like to ask?"

While the clerk's words had been rattled off at high speeds, she had spoken coherently enough for Rarity to follow along. She shook her head and gave a content smile, placing the brochures into a small saddlebag on her croup.

"No, that is all I believe I will need... actually," she said, quickly changing her mind, "I do have one request, if that is alright. Would you be able to check if another guest has already arrived?"

The young mare wasted no time. She took out the clipboard. "Of course, ma'am. What is the name?"

"Coco Pommel," said Rarity. "She will be staying in the same suite as I..."

Scanning over the paper, the clerk's eyes eventually came to rest on the name. Frowning slightly, she shook her head no.

"No, I am afraid not. I am sorry, ma'am..."

Rarity shrugged, waving off the apology lightly with her hoof. "No no, that's quite alright. But when she does arrive, could you please tell her that I will be waiting for her in the Blue Orchid? I'm reserving a table there for the two of us."

Her request was met with a happy nod. "Of course! But before you leave, could I have your bags taken up to your suite?"

She gestured to a burly brown stallion, dressed in a similar garb as herself, walking out from the back room from where she had first emerged. Rarity looked back at things which were a few feet away and standing all by themselves. She rolled her eyes and laughed. How could she have forgotten about her belongings?

"Why... yes, of course." She giggled again. The stallion grabbed gentle hold of her three bags and placed them upon a trolley, taking it over to one of the nearby staff elevators. "I suppose that would be important. Cannot believe I almost entirely forgot about something like that! I suppose I should get to bed early tonight..."

No sooner had she made the suggestion that Rarity then noticed something. Something... odd. The desk clerk's eyes shifted over to the stallion waiting by the elevator. He said nothing, facing away from them and waiting for the doors to open. His ear, however, was pricked up and turned toward their direction like a satellite dish. For a moment, her bottom lip curled down into a slight grimace, which had it not been for Rarity's keen attention to detail, she may have never seen. The other mare's eyes widened for a moment, and then, she turned to face her. Her smile remained intact, but the corners of her lips trembled with a visible effort.

"Try not to call it a night _too_ early, though!" she said. "You wouldn't want to miss out on the nightlife scene here at the Marble Fountain, after all. Some of the best in all of Manehattan!"

The cheer in her tone of voice was tangible. Like a sticky, sweet syrup. Her eyes shifted momentarily over to bag carrier. Rarity watched the stallion's eyes flicker over to the clerk, and as soon as he did so, the clerk made it a point to focus only on Rarity. Then, the elevator bell dinged, and the circular doors peeled open to a glass interior. Shooting one last glance over at the two of them, he pushed the dolly inside and stepped through the doors.

The clerk exhaled deeply through her nose, and the door slid shut.

Rarity raised an eyebrow. And then, with her mouth slightly agape, she took a couple of steps back away from the counter. Realizing that the clerk was still looking at her, Rarity smiled politely. Though, as an odd tingly feeling crawled over her spine, she had to work hard to force it.

"I... then I suppose sleep will have to wait a little while longer, then. Hahaha," she chuckled. Then, she cleared her throat. "Anyway, I, um... thank you for your help, err..." She squinted, trying to read the tag from a distance, but was unable to discern the letters. "Er..."

"Amble," the younger mare answered. Rarity breathed an internal sigh of relief.

"Thank you very much, Amble. I-It was a pleasure talking with you." She turned part of the way around, towards the direction of the fountain. "Have a good evening!"

Amble waved back jovially. "Thanks, you too!"

Rarity matched the gesture and, with one last glance over her shoulder, she walked away. She swore that she could still feel Amble's emerald eyes boring into her from behind, but she didn't look back.

Save for two stallions she had seen in the lounge, the expansive entrance lobby felt quite devoid of anypony else, only the occasional guest passing her by on her way to one of the glass-lined escalators on the lobby's opposite side. Branching off to her right, there was a whole, separate area, a small lobby of sorts lined by several elevator doors. Cylindrical glass elevator shafts stretched all the way to the top floor... or at least, that was what Rarity assumed, since she could not actually see the top. In spite of knowing somewhere in the back of her mind that she was in a first-class hotel where such commodities were commonplace, she nonetheless thanked her lucky stars that they had elevators anyway. The thirtieth floor was far too high up for stairs.

And to her left, sitting solemnly still in the center of the chamber, was the fountain. Rarity noted, with a frown of pity, that the splendid hotel would have felt far less empty, if only it had been in working order. Water would have been broiling unceasingly, reflecting the chandeliers' light like a glass mirror, adding some much-needed ambience and atmosphere. Her own hoofsteps bounced noisily off of the domed ceiling and all around the room, and given the lobby's acoustics, she would have feared to speak lest an eavesdropper lurk nearby, able to hear everything she said...

She came to a sudden stop. Her head did a double take toward the fountain. From the front door, it would have escaped her observation entirely. But up close, it was impossible for her to miss.

The fountain was still dripping. Rarity's eyes fixed themselves onto a single water droplet, dangling like a stalactite over the lowest level, before finally plopping down onto the damp marble below. The impact sent ripples through a shallow puddle at the basin.

Frowning, Rarity continued on her way.

**Author's Note:**

Next chapter is coming very shortly, folks! Just needs some editing, and then it's set.

Hope you all like what you see so far!

~Arwhale


	2. Red Letter

As much as she would have liked to be, Rarity could not profess to be familiar with the Manehattan scene. Regardless, the Blue Orchid restaurant was a name that ponies from all over Equestria knew.

And from her place at the table, Rarity had to admit that, after surveying her surroundings, its reputation was justly deserved. Had she not been waiting for Coco Pommel to arrive, she would have forfeited her table and gone up to her room to get dressed into more suitable garb than what she was... or, rather, was _not_ wearing. But fortunately, the low-lit atmosphere and the boxed-off placement of her booth provided her with enough concealment from the other well-dressed diners that she felt safe from any judgmental glares that may have otherwise come her way.

Rarity recalled quite well Coco's offer to pay the bill for her meal in a letter sent to her only a week prior. She, of course, had politely declined the offer and insisted that she be responsible for her own tab. But after looking at the menu, Rarity was starting to wish that she hadn't been so insistent; her coin purse would certainly feel a lot lighter by the end of the night. She sighed.

"Ohh, come on, Coco..." she whispered under her breath. A full water glass sat on the other side of the table, but it hadn't been touched since it had been poured. Hers, however, had been refilled three times already. "Come on..."

The waiter, a stallion who Rarity had to say was quite the handsome fellow, had insisted a few times already that she was welcome to wait as long as need be. Rarity was unsure if he would continue to extend the offer at this rate, especially since the restaurant was beginning to fill up, but his insistence had allowed her to shed some of the worry she felt.

And at least, after all this time, she now knew _exactly_ what she wanted to order.

For the third, or maybe fifth, or perhaps even the sixth time, Rarity took a good, long look around the room. From her booth seat, it was a bit difficult to see anything past her aisle, so she craned her neck and pushed up into the foam-cushioned seat with her forehooves to see over the alabaster stone wall on her right.

Another booth lay directly on the other side. Four ponies sat at the table in full formal attire, two couples sitting across from one another and chatting in low voices so as not to be overheard. Rarity had seen them a few times already in her past three... six investigations, and as far as she knew, they still hadn't noticed her head peeking out over the wall.

She shifted her attention over to the other side of the restaurant, scanning over the more wide open table areas, where quite a few more groups had taken seats since the last time she'd looked. A waitress, dressed in a more form fitting blue suit and a petite bow tie, waltzed between the tables with a wide metal platter balanced impressively on the top of her head, containing various colored pitchers and bottles of wine. With a deft hoof, she plucked one of the bottles up and refilled a mare's glass without so much as eye contact exchanged between the two, before setting it back onto the platter and moving onto the next table.

Rarity could not help but be fascinated with the sight. To the server, of course, it was most likely not a big deal at all, but nonetheless, the fact that an Earth pony could have managed to effectively balance that many items at once without magic was not something she was used to seeing. Rarity watched her move from table to table, performing the same task repeatedly like it was muscle memory until she made it to the last one...

Two ponies sat there. Two stallions. The same two stallions she'd seen in the lounge downstairs. They sat across from one another, but neither one was speaking to the other. In fact, they were hardly making any eye contact at all. An appetizer sat in the space between them, but it was hardly touched.

One of them turned his head in her direction. Rarity, for a reason she could not quite explain, felt a stirring in her gut and an electricity in her spine that made her shiver. She quickly, as if in a panic, dropped her head back down below the wall of the booth and faced forward again. A tinge of red showed itself on her cheeks.

"Ma'am?"

A voice to her left. Rarity snapped her head around, only to have the embarrassed blush darken in color. Her waiter, poised with a covered platter in one hoof, regarded her with a sympathetic eyebrow. Rarity stammered.

"Uh, uhh... my apologies. I, um... I was just..." She winced. "I was just admiring the atmosphere. What is it?"

The question came out a little more quickly than she would have liked. She berated herself inwardly for coming across as rude, but the waiter did not seem to mind. He gestured to the platter in his hoof.

"I know you have been waiting for a while, but I wanted to bring you a complimentary appetizer for your wait. Would that interest you?" he asked. He pulled off the cover, revealing an ornate setup of several different kinds of bread, lined up in circular rings around a large pad of herb butter and a smaller plate of various different cheeses. A silver butter knife lay halfway inserted into the butter like a boulder housing some kind of sword relic of pony's past.

Rarity's eyes widened, and her stomach responded with an approving purr. It took every bit of her willpower to ask, "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Of course, miss. The chef insists it is on the house." He set the platter down on the table. Rarity followed it with her eyes, but had to peel her gaze away from the food to make polite eye contact with the stallion. She smiled.

"Why, thank you very much. I must say that all this waiting has made me quite, err..." She wanted to say 'ravenous,' but thought better of it at the last second. "...has given me quite the appetite."

He smirked, and gave her a quick bow his head. "Well then, I hope this will help tide you over until your friend arrives..."

"Rarity!"

In the quietness of the restaurant, the loud voice was out of place. It came from a short distance away, but its clarity was unmistakable. Rarity whirled around in her seat, and immediately, her whole face brightened enough to lighten the dark atmosphere. She shot the waiter a glance.

"That's her!" she said, a little too excited. The waiter allowed himself to break formality long enough to chuckle, and stepped back, gesturing to the platter on the table with a sweep of his hoof.

"Seems I have perfect timing." He turned around and headed to one of the other booths where another couple had seated themselves. "I will be back to take your orders in a bit. Enjoy."

He quickly disappeared from sight. Rarity acknowledged him with a nod before addressing the fast approaching mare in a jovial tone. "Coco! What took you so long? I've been waiting here for ages!"

The mare she was addressing, along with the hostess escorting her, stepped into view. A short, cropped hairdo, accentuated by a flowery hair clip on the back of her mane, formed a nice frame around her facial features. And unlike Rarity, she wore a small article of clothing around her neck, a shallow white sailor's collar housing a red-ribbon tie. It was her usual attire, minimalist in nature but still respectable in most of the high life's more casual settings... but certainly, no so much in here. Rarity gave an inward sigh of relief; she was not the only pony who hadn't gone up to change. Coco bared her teeth in an apologetic grimace.

"So sorry about that, Rarity!" Coco bared her teeth slightly in an apologetic grimace. "I was held up by... well, a lot of things. Business things, clients being really picky about orders and all of that... but I'm here now!"

Her grimace turned into a smile of relief. Seeing this was the right table, the hostess stepped away, leaving the two of them alone. Rarity grinned.

"Not to worry, Coco. I know that feeling quite well, believe you me. Fortunately, our waiter..." She turned to introduce him to Coco, only to realize that she'd forgotten that he'd gone. She smiled sheepishly. "...who is not here at the moment, brought us some food free of charge. Which for this place is probably a good thing."

Coco's mouth opened up at the sight of the plate. She sat down eagerly. "Oh, thank goodness. I haven't eaten anything besides a raspberry scone this morning thanks to working so much. I'm _starving._"

In a manner rather unbefitting of her demure demeanor, Coco snatched one of the appetizer plates and set it in front of her before quickly unbundling the set of silverware at her place. Rarity, having already done likewise when she'd first arrived, wasted no more time in selecting a few slices of cheese and bread and putting them onto her own plate.

A nearly empty platter later, their conversation returned to normal. Coco Pommel was the first to speak.

"So... how was your trip?" she asked. Rarity shrugged, taking a few more chews of her bread.

"Fine. Lots of traffic going through Times Mare, but good..."

"There's _always_ traffic there," said Coco. "Just the way things go in Manehattan. Scheduling times for meetings is a nightmare, I have to say. But anyway," she said, wiping her mouth with a napkin, "Do you have the designs with you right now, or are they at the suite?"

And just like that, it was business. Rarity supposed the small talk had to end at some point, and considering the delay, it was probably for the best that it was now. She nodded.

"Both, actually. All but one of them are up there, of course, but I do have the most important one with me right here." She opened her saddlebag in the seat beside her and pulled out a neatly folded slip of paper in her magic aura. She set it on a portion of the tablecloth that did not have bread crumbs on it. "I wanted to show it to you first thing. It's by far the most prominent piece for the contest, and I think we should start working on it right away. Take a look."

Rarity opened the paper and turned it toward Coco Pommel. Coco set her napkin down, forgetting the food for a moment to give it a look. She pursed her lips and let a slow whistle escape through them.

"Wow, Rarity. That's quite the design..." She sounded a little intimidated. "I feel complimented that you trust me to pull it off."

Rarity laughed. "Of course, Coco! Why, do you not feel confident you can do it in time?" she said, her tone immediately turning concerned. "I could simplify the design if that's the case-"

"No no no, it's fine!" Coco shook her head emphatically. "I could do it! Sorry if what I said made you think that, it's just... it'll be a challenge. But that's alright; Suri put me through much worse!"

She giggled. Rarity, faced with her friend's reassurance, decided (although reluctantly) to take her word for it. Besides, simplifying some of the curls and flows in the fabric design would take time, too. She shrugged.

"Alright, then. If you're sure." She sipped from her water glass. "I certainly don't want to make you feel like you're working with Suri again, that's for sure."

"Oh no, don't worry! I'm positive you won't," said Coco reassuringly. She took a sip from her own glass. "Anyway... There are supposed to be five designs per entry for the exhibition, right? Are the other four in the room?"

Rarity swished the water around for a moment before answering. "Mmhm. Yes to both. Though, those four aren't nearly as demanding as this one, fortunately. But either way, all of these dresses should showcase your sewing abilities to the public quite well, especially since _this_ one is going to be the final one in the lineup." Rarity smiled. "I'm sure it will leave quite a lasting impression."

Coco Pommel seemed to smile at that. "Yes, I'm sure it will... and I know I've already said this fifteen times, b-but I just wanted to say thank you. You know, for asking me if I wanted to be your seamstress for the contest... It's been hard getting started on my own hooves in this city since I left Suri, but this is going to help me out a lot with getting my... _our_ names out. So... thank you."

She looked down at the table, avoiding eye contact. Her voice softened until it was difficult to hear, but Rarity, having had a lot of practice with her quiet friend Fluttershy, was able to understand everything just fine. She hovered the piece of paper back into her saddlebag and closed it up.

"Of course, Coco. Anything to help a friend. And besides, when I found out that this was a contest to be done in pairs, you were the first pony to come to mind anyway," she said. A wide smile accompanied her statement. Coco Pommel's ears perked up at the compliment, but she stayed silent, trying and failing to hide the flattered blush on her cheeks.

The period of awkward silence was mercifully short as the waiter strolled up to their table. He took the spot between them. "Are you ladies ready to order?"

Rarity, having already had a thorough look over the menu, answered promptly. "I'll have the Gruyer and polenta pie, please. It sounds heavenly."

In a manner akin to these sorts of restaurants, the waiter did not even scribble any of the order down. He nodded. "Of course. And you, ma'am? Could I also start you out with something else to drink?"

Coco Pommel, upon seeing the waiter approach, had flipped her menu open so hard that it fanned some of the crumbs on the table onto the floor. She scanned over the choices rapidly, eyes panning it over as the question was directed at her. "I'll just stick with water, and uhh..."

The stallion raised an eyebrow. He gave her a few seconds pause before starting to ask, "I am sorry, do you need more time to dec-"

"No no no, I'm fine, just, uhh..." Coco Pommel focused in on one of the listed items near the bottom and blurted out, "I'll just have your... blumenthal risotto!"

Coco's voice reached a near shout as she chose the item in a near panic. No sooner had she done so that she winced with embarrassment, looking around to see if anyone else had noticed. Fortunately, from their location, no one would have been able to see her anyway. The waiter gave her a nod, his face betraying nothing.

"An excellent choice, ma'am." He proceeded backward. "And is there anything else either of you ladies would like?"

Rarity spoke for them both. "No, that will be all. Thank you very much, err... I apologize, I must have forgotten your name."

The corners of his lips curled into an appreciative grin. "No worries. My full name is Silver Tray, but you can just call me Silver." He turned around. "I will tell the chef your selections."

As he walked away, Rarity caught a glimpse of his cutie mark. Sure enough, his namesake matched it perfectly: a silver tray with a domed metal lid cover, the latter tilted to the side just enough to reveal part of the dish underneath. He passed around the corner. Coco Pommel let out a deep breath, one that she had been holding in for a little while.

"I don't even know what 'blumenthal' is." She sat back and slumped in her seat. "Oh well."

Rarity suppressed a laugh. "I'm sure it will be lovely. A place like the Blue Orchid wouldn't put it on the menu if it wasn't." She took another sip from her water glass. "You didn't have to rush it, you know."

Coco gave her a sheepish smile. "Yeah, I know... I just didn't want to keep you waiting any more, that's all."

She cleared her throat. Then, after snatching it up, she took another sip from her glass.

Silence reigned for a short while. In that time, Rarity took it upon herself to finish the last of the appetizer, after Coco Pommel insisted with a wordless shake of her head that she didn't want any more. Five minutes ticked by with only the occasional chatter exchanged, and meanwhile, the dull background roar continued to grow louder as the restaurant continued to fill up. The hostess walked by their table with another trio of guests, all dressed for the occasion, and seated them in the booth behind Rarity.

Finally, Coco broke the silence by sliding out of her seat. She gazed around the restaurant before turning to Rarity, asking, "Do you know where the restroom is in here?"

Being in an unfamiliar environment, it was an impulse for Rarity to shake her head. But then, only a second later, her eyes brightened up, and she turned it into a nod. All the time spent looking around before had paid off.

"If you go straight and turn left when you reach the wall, it should be right at the end," she said. Coco nodded in understanding and mumbled 'thank you' before trotting off. She was obviously in a hurry. Rarity smiled, feeling good about herself.

But then, once again, she realized that she was alone. Their meals hadn't arrived yet, so there was nothing to occupy her time. Almost as a reflex, her head turned every which way as she tried to find something to occupy her attention, but she'd seen everything already. Then, she glanced down at her saddlebag, lying in a heap beside her.

She quickly ruled it as a change in scenery. Her horn glowed, and she opened the flap. Being a small bag, and with the rest of her belongings up in her room, there was not much inside: her coin purse, the design sketch she'd shown Coco, a few beauty accessories...

And right next to her eyelash curler, there was the neatly folded hotel brochure she'd gotten from the front counter and that Amble had insisted she read. Since putting it in there, Rarity had completely forgotten about it until now. She tilted her head to the side, bit her lip, and then shrugged inwardly. She was here on business, but it couldn't hurt to take a gander at what this place had to offer. At the very least, it was something to do until Coco got back.

She floated it to the table, and with the front page caught in her aura, flipped it open. She stared.

And stared. The breath caught in her lungs like she was choking on smoke.

Capital letters, in red ink, written clearly over the printed words and pictures of the brochure. A hoof-written, hastily scrawled message. Every hair of Rarity's coiffed mane prickled out like spines as the five word letter stared back up at her with nary a blink.

DON'T GO TO YOUR ROOM.

**Author's Note:**

I hope this beginning sequence captured your interest! It's going to get more and more intense from here.

And please, let me know what you think of this so far! Constructive criticism on anything is much appreciated!

~Arwhale


End file.
